Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris – Review/Giveaway

GIVEAWAY INFO: We will be giving away a TASTE THE HEAT Gift Basket including a signed copy of TASTE THE HEAT (exclusive). Rafflecopter Link is at the bottom of the post and good luck!

TASTE THE HEAT Synopsis:

One sexy fire captain. One Cajun chef. One combustible kitchen…

When chef Colby Robicheaux returned home to New Orleans to save her family restaurant, the last person she expected to reconnect with was her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush. As tempting as a sugar-coated beignet, Jason is one dish she can’t afford to taste. Colby can’t wait to leave the place where her distrust of love and commitment originated and go back to Vegas.

Fire captain Jason Landry isn’t looking for love, either. Disillusioned by his past, he knows he should be focusing on finding the perfect mother for his daughter. But when he first sees Colby, all grown up and gorgeous, he can’t help but be drawn to her. And when she suggests a no-strings-attached fling, Jason can’t say no.

As their relationship grows more intense, Colby finds that Jason isn’t as easy to leave behind as she thought. Could turning up the heat on something real be worth the possibility of getting burned?

Review:

What is there not to love about a hot fireman, a chef, an adorable daughter and a setting that comes alive on the pages of a book? My point exactly. What makes the story extra special for me is the author is a Cajun and she brings authenticity to the setting and the characters. I loved it when authors write about the things that they love and its truly apparent that Ms. Harris misses Louisiana.

Every character in the book counted. Yes, counted. From Sherry, Colby’s younger sister, Cane, Jason’s best friend and Colby’s protective older brother/godfather to Emma, Jason’s daughter and the whole town of Magnolia Springs. They were well rounded and drawn out characters that you came to love as much as Colby and Jason.

I couldn’t get enough of Jason being a dad. The whole feminine hygiene product thing with Emma…I was rolling on the floor. It brought up memories of my dad and me. J Plus, the fact that he could cook as well as Colby.

Yes, where the standard tropes there: Best friend of older brother (Jason), younger sister of BF (Colby), friends to lovers and throw in the daughter of hero that wanted a mother. The difference was in Ms. Harris telling it. She made the situations relatable and realistic. You understood the motivations and the conflicts that Colby and Jason had within themselves and each other.

That’s not to say that Colby and Jason weren’t perfect, they weren’t. Colby came home after a few years of being away to help with the family after her dad died and Jason was still grieving over his dead wife and dealing with a daughter that was growing up too fast, in his book. Also Jason was aware of the bro code, too and that just added fuel to the fire. And Colby just couldn’t get over the fact that her crush on Jason hadn’t stopped after all those years.

I would be remiss to mention the sexual tension in the story. Lord a mercy was it hot. Chocolate body paint was involved but this being a Bliss book; it’s not about the sex but the relationship. This book was hot, sweet but not graphic. Again, body paint…

This is my second Bliss story and definitely won’t be my last. It’s a great line to read if you are looking for a character driven, emotional, sexual tension building story. Your mother could read this line and not blush. Okay, maybe she would at body paint but…This is my first book from Ms. Harris and will be on the lookout for more of her work. She writes what she loves and it shows.

Rachel Harris Bio:

Rachel Harris grew up in New Orleans, where she watched soap operas with her grandmother and stayed up late sneak reading her mama’s favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, she still stays up way too late reading her favorite romances, only now, she can do so openly. She firmly believes life’s problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.

When not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, she homeschools her two beautiful girls and watches reality television with her amazing husband. Taste The Heat is her adult romance debut. She’s the author of MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY and A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES. She loves hearing from readers! Find her atwww.RachelHarrisWrites.com.

5 thoughts on “Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris – Review/Giveaway”

I like this review too, Rachel! If you do what you love, it shows in everything you do…and usually “the money will follow,” as another book title said. 🙂 So congrats on your release and continued success to you. I’ve only traveled through Louisiana once, before “the great flood,” and you get heat just like we do here in the California central valley. Because of the Delta just south of Sacramento, we have high humidity too. Whew! Anyway…thanks for the post Harlie and introducing Rachel to us.